Here’s how climate change is already affecting your health, based on the state you live in

Climate change is already beginning to wreak havoc upon the
planet. In the short term, we're facing
more winter storms, miserably hot summers, and
a longer allergy season. In the long term, entire
coastlines will likely disappear, threatening
communities and wildlife.

But just how is all of this affecting you — your state, your
coastline — right now?

A new report from the Medical
Society Consortium on Climate and Health reveals that
different geographic regions in the US are facing a range of
effects, many of which are already taking shape today. Some of
them are as geographically specific as to affect only one state.

Check out how your area stacks up:

The
Medical Society Consortium on Climate Change and Public
Health

Here are a few of the changes the report outlines:

Heat, heat, heat

Climate change lengthens summer months and makes them hotter and
more humid. During these episodes, it's more likely that people
will suffer heat-related illness like heat stroke or
dehydration. People most at risk include those who works
outdoors, student athletes, pregnant women, and people without
access to air conditioning.

Erratic weather

Droughts, wipeouts, and floods like Hurricane Sandy have become
increasingly common. As we saw with Sandy, these storms can have
a devastating impact on infrastructure including public transit
and electricity, interfering with access to health care
facilities.

Dirtier air

Allergy seasons are already getting worse as a result of air
pollution. Why? Carbon dioxide, one of the primary
drivers of climate change, makes plants grow faster and
increases the amount and potency of their pollen. Rising
temperatures also lengthen allergy season, and drier,
warmer conditions increase wildfire risk, which can
exacerbate respiratory conditions like asthma.

Bugs and more bugs

Nymph
blacklegged ticks (right) are tiny compared to adults (left) but
are the most common vectors for Lyme disease.Getty Images

Shifting regional climates are allowing
many diseases spread by insects like mosquitoes, ticks,
and fleas to flourish beyond their present confines. The
mosquitoes that carry West Nile virus, for example, thrive in
warm, moist conditions that are becoming more common around the
US. Lyme disease-carrying ticks have also expanded their range to
more northern and western regions of the country.